Wyoming's all-Republican Congressional delegation is moving quickly on a bill that would diminish the boundaries of the Wind River Reservation.
Sen. Mike Enzi (R)
and Sen. John Barrasso
(R), the vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R) released a joint statement last week that said they don't want to "take away" from the reservation.
But a draft of their bill clearly states that the reservation was "diminished" by an act Congress in
1905.
The lawmakers started circulating the draft sometime last month. They only gave the Northern Arapaho Tribe
and the Eastern
Shoshone Tribe until April 4 to provide comments.
"The bill you have put forward resurrects policies discredited and abandoned long ago by the United States,” the leaders of the Northern Arapaho Tribe said in a
letter to the delegation.
The 1905 act of Congress has been cited repeatedly by the state courts to diminish the reservation. However, the federal courts do not appear to have directly ruled on the matter so the state has filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency.
The lawsuit does not arise directly out of the 1905 law. Instead, it's being filed because the EPA approved a treatment as state application for the Northern Arapaho Tribe and Eastern Shoshone Tribe.
The EPA's approval conflicted with the state's view of the reservation boundaries.
The matter is now before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Get the Story:
Wyoming Senator Drafts Bill ‘To Clarify’ Reservation Borders
(Indian Country Today 4/9)
Tribe has 'grave concerns' about fed legislation on reservation border
(The Riverton Daily Ranger 4/9)
Related Stories:
Northern Arapaho Tribe blasts proposal to
diminish reservation (4/2)
NPR: Wyoming fights EPA
decision affecting reservation borders (3/5)
WPM: Northern Arapaho Tribe
seeks timeout in EPA dispute (02/12)
Northern Arapaho Tribe seeks delay in EPA authority
dispute (2/10)
WyoFile: War rages over Wind
River Reservation boundary (01/29)
Vehicle tax exemption limited for Wyoming tribal
members (1/28)
Wyoming tribes criticize
state for appealing EPA decision (1/13)
Wyoming Governor: EPA designation for tribes is
'unlawful' (1/9)
WyoFile: Wyoming
objects to EPA designation for two tribes (1/8)
Wyoming plans appeal for
tribal treatment of state designation (12/11)
EPA approves treatment as state status for Wyoming
tribes (12/10)
Tribes in Wyoming seek
treatment as state status from EPA (11/22)
Lawmakers move quickly on bill to diminish reservation borders
Posted: Thursday, April 10, 2014
Stay Connected
Contact Us
indianz@indianz.com202 630 8439 (THEZ)
Search
Top Stories
Most Read
1 Film set on Pine Ridge Reservation already called one of the year's best
2 Video: Navajo Code Talker Roy Hawthorne shares his story for veterans project
3 Winnebago Tribe fights back in court after 'attack on sovereignty'
4 Mark Trahant: Trump administration sabotages the treaty and trust relationship
5 HEARTH Act remains popular as tribes assert more control on homelands
2 Video: Navajo Code Talker Roy Hawthorne shares his story for veterans project
3 Winnebago Tribe fights back in court after 'attack on sovereignty'
4 Mark Trahant: Trump administration sabotages the treaty and trust relationship
5 HEARTH Act remains popular as tribes assert more control on homelands
More Stories
Removed Eastern Shoshone Tribe leaders accused of disloyalty Indian-owned online lender enters settlement with Connecticut
News Archive
2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000